The Outsiders Imagines

Curly, Pony & Johnny • Toy Guns

"Where the hell did you get that?"

Shocked, but impressed and cramped in the Shepards' garage; Ponyboy and Johnny watched as Curly Shepard cocked the black steel and plastic, showing the boys where the bullets went and tracing his finger along the carefully crafted lines of the barrel.

He tapped on the front sight, made a cocky comment and pretended to shoot it at Pony. His finger wasn't even on the trigger.

"Quit." Pony groaned, waving his hand infront of the muzzle and pushing the heater back.

"Uh, it ain't loaded is it?" Johnny asks and Curly gave him a dangerous, boyish grin. "Naw, not yet." Curly Shepard always came through with the right things to get everyone including himself in big trouble. It really came as no surprise that one day he'd just be playing around with a gun like it was a toy.

"Where'd you find it?"

All the attention was on the boy with the shotgun. Caressesing it carefully and turning it back and forth in his hand, he shrugged.

"I found it at Bucks, he said I could have it."

Johnny Cade shook his head, making a face while he fiddled around in his pocket for his camels, shaking the pack till a stick came out. "Stupid, you should give it back." When it came to endeavours like this, Johnny Cade was a little more responsible than his younger friends. Still, he always got dragged into doing stupid things.

"Why? You g'on tell my brother or something?"

"No," Johnny shrugged simply. "I ain't no snitch."

"Then relax, every other kid on the block has a shotgun." Curly chuckled, shoving it inbetween the leather of his belt and his jeans.

"Try not to stick down all the way to your crotch." Johnny teased. He was getting to be real sassy these days. Maybe it was because both Curly and Pony were younger. Curly rolled his eyes, naking a joke that the second he got his hands on some bullets he'd shoot Johnny right through the foot.

"Fifty points if you make me lose my big toe." Johnny teased right back, Curly Shepard didn't scare him none.

"What are you gonna do once you load it?" Pony asks, sitting on a toolbox.

"Shoot Cade in the foot." He jokes, chuckling to himself while he looked through drawers and boxes in the garage. "Nah, we'll set up some targets in the backyard and play around with it I guess, we got some old wood."

"Tuff enough." Pony shrugged, and Johnny nodded too. Johnny didn't really think it was a good idea, but at least Curly only wanted to shoot at stuff in his backyard, Johnny didn't want to be a square about that. To Ponyboy it was likely a real relief that Curly only planned to shoot at wooden targets, he couldn't imagine having to shoot at pigeons or even rats or something.

"Ah ha." He found a whole matchbox full of bullets just the right size, setting the heater down and loading it up.

"Be careful." Johnny warns

"I know what I'm doing."

Pony and Johnny watched, telling him that he better not accidently let his clumsy finger rest on the trigger.

"Darry would kill me if he found out we was just playing with a gun." He admits. "I always do stupid stuff when I hang out with you, Curly Shepard."

"At least I don't read the dictionary and stay inside all day like you do." He jokes, making Johnny snicker and slap Pony on the back playfully.

"Certified virgin, Curtis is."

Pony rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, you can't even look at a girl."

"Quit gabbin'"

Once he'd gotten it loaded, the other two boys followed the younger Shepard out to the backyard where they set up some wooden posts and painted targets on them.

"Ain't that paint supposed to be for you to do the fence?" Johnny asks, using it up to paint the targets anyway.

"There'll be enough." Curly shrugged.

It was fun, goofing around on warm afternoons with nothing to do. Curly insisted that since it was his heater, he was going to go first. Johnny and Pony stood back and egged him on while he got ready to size up the target, close an eye and rest a shaky finger on the trigger.

BANG

"Ha! You missed!" Pony teases, but he wasn't any better of a shooter himself, he knew what to do but he just didn't like it all that much. He kind of jolted when he had to shoot as he if he didn't like the sound. Curly picked it up pretty quickly, but the boys didn't reckon that it was his first time using one.

Johnny Cade had the best shot, who knew he'd be good with a gun. But he didn't like to shoot, said it was too loud and pointless. He hoped that after they all played around with it that Curly would give it back to Buck unloaded but something told him that he wouldn't.

The boys made a scarcrow out of hay, they even put a hat on it and dared eachother to try and shoot the hat off. Pony teased at Curly, saying this was likely the kind of fun that hicks had.

It was fun though.

"Whats next Shepard? Fighting gators?" He teased and Curly laughed, shaking his mop of hair.

"As if you'd fight a gator." He teased back, nodding over at Johnny.

"Your turn." Curly tossed the heater over and Johnny cocked it, muttering that soon it'd be out of bullets. He squinted an eye shut and sized up the scarecrow, deciding where to point. He was about to shoot, interupted by Tim Shepard barging out and yelling at them.

It was always Tim that caught them out.

Johnny tossed the gun aside like he had nothing to do with it, Pony already sprinting infront of him and hopping over the fence.

"Sorry Curly!" Pony called, Johnny followed soon after.

"You stupid kids, just wait till Darry hears about it Curtis!" Tim called, grabbing Curly by the ear to lecture him real good inside.

Pony and Johnny ran down the alleyway, laughing a little when they were far enough away from the Shepard house.

That was the last time they were playing with guns.

*
I don't condone playing around with guns. Don't do it lol